If I had a dollar for every time I heard “I like Trump because he’s brash, bold, tough, strong, etc.,” I’d have almost as much as he has invested in failed ventures. Almost.

There is undoubtedly a tough guy persona around Trump, but as Last Week Tonight host John Oliver so eloquently questioned in his fantastic segment on Trump, is he really all that tough?

That, of course, begs the question of what true toughness is. To answer that, I will turn to the wisdom of JC varsity football head coach Keith Rawlings. In locker rooms, on the practice field, at games, and almost everywhere else, coach Rawlings demands toughness from his players. We are to be physically, mentally, and most importantly, emotionally tough.

Surprisingly, that doesn’t mean what most people would guess. Rawlings doesn’t want players who are tough enough to be in fights, he wants players who are tough enough not to be. He wants players who have enough mental composure and toughness to stand there and get hit, cussed at, and spit on without doing anything to retaliate.

That’s toughness worth admiring, and Trump’s lack of it is exactly the reason Donald Trump is such an undignified disgrace. Just look at society: the people we expect tantrums from are children, not adults. By the time people have matured to adulthood, they are supposed to be tough enough to keep their composure when they are upset or angry. When you hate someone, the easiest thing to do is call them fat, dumb losers, just as Donald Trump does time and time again.

His most eloquent comments include “Rosie’s a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie.” and “Dummy Bill Maher did an advertisement for the failing New York Times where the picture of him is very sad-he looks pathetic, bloated & gone!”

The harder alternative to lashing out is stomaching those feelings and treating people with the decency and respect they deserve, no matter how badly they have wronged or insulted you.

All of the people who are so enthralled with Trump are missing the fact that they themselves probably think, and possibly say, exactly the same things when angry. Losing control of your emotions is as easy as finding things to criticize Trump for. He’s not some macho strongman who is here to put politicians in their place. He’s just an angry billionaire who is so rich that he can treat people like dirt and still be surrounded by admirers.
Will Bolton is the Perspectives Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.